Bismarck weekly tribune., 1887-12-02
YANKEE EDITOR I'm PARIS.

YANKEE EDITOR I'm PARIS.
DRAWBACKS 70 RUNNING A NEWS
PAPER IN THE FRENCH REPUBLIC.
Experiences In Asiitins The News--Pecu-
liar Difficulties OF Bill Posting The
Law of Libel In F,rance-Difiiculties of
InterviewingAL Long Law Suit.
Before the debut Of the new paper an un-
expected hitch occurred. The Forthcoming
Journal must have q gerant. A gerant is
defined by Spiers and Surenne as "a manager.
q person at the head Of an establishments I
found that the French law forbade my con-
templating myself or permitting myself to be
publicly contemplated as gerant No
foreigner whatsoever may lay that flattering
unction to his soul. The gerant must be a
French person, actually of native birth, or
anointed with the divine unguent of naturali-
zation. Accordingly, had to hunt up a
properly qualified gerant. After some search
l learned Of worthy individual named
Malabouche, who fulfilled all legal require
ments. Malabouche was a gentleman of
humble station, who dwelt somewhere in the
suburbs. He was described to me as being a
hopeless cripple from paralysis, who, for the
stipend OF SO monthly, would act as figure
head for any aspiring editor of foreign ex-
traction. His responsibility comprised the
shouldellng of legal actions, appearance in
cases OF libel, Infringement of the press laws
and SO forth. NJ. Malabouche was engaged
forthwith. Whether or not he justified the
description had of him am unable to say.
never set eyes upon the good man, and for
aught know he may have been a Journal
lstlc Mrs. Harris with a gift of regularly
drawing $40 month and receipting therefor
In a Frenchy chirography.
STRUCK ANOTHER sNAG.
Before the first issue we q use the plural as
referring not to Malabouche, but to nv able
associate, Mr.: Albert G. Ives, formerly of The
New York Tines struck another snag. To
properly herald the coming birth, a quantity
OF posters had been prepared for placarding
the vacant walls of Paris. 1t was our un-
tutored American idea that to order and pay
for few thousand flaming bills, and to hire
men to stick them to the walls, comprised all
the process necessary for this pleasing form
OF attracting public attention. Ingenious
barbarians that we were, we had fallen into
new errors First, we narrowly escaped ar
rest for affixing one of the placards to our
own premises without previously having it
stamped with the official stamp. Every bill
must, under penalty of the law, bear the gov
eminent stamp as conspicuously as though it
were going to be sent by mail The stamps
vary in price according to the size of the
poster, but the rule is rigid and the penalty
for its Infringement severe. Further than
this, good part of our stock of placards were
seized because, forsooth, the announcements
had been printed upon white paper! The use
OF white paper is reserved by the French re-
public to itself for such proclamations or
other announcements as it finds necessary to
placard about the capital Red we could use.
or blue or peagreen or any shade of color
whatsoever that might please our aesthetic
fa,,cy, but the posters which we had pre-
sumed to order printed in black and white
must be destroyed, and destroyed they were,
ruthlessly
When the paper had been running about
two months we made the announcement
based OH careful canvass Of the kiosks or
news stands, that our circulation in the city
OF Paris was six times as large as that of our
venerable rival. The said rival had meantime
reduced its price from eight to four cents q
copy, applied for special wire to London.
and actually taken to printing sporadic items
OF news Our statement of comparative cir
culatlon was printed in tabular form, based
upon the actual sales of the kiosks, The
figures were carefully verified before publica-
ton They showed conclusively that the
Paris sale OF The Morning News versus that of
Gaglgnanl was six against one. But though
this statement was true, it was, according to
French law, illegal. Wewere promptly sued
by the enemy, who estimated his damages at
10000 francs ga ,OOO.
A LONG LAW SUIT.
Thelaw under which our behavior had be-
come actiOrable was that of concurrence de-
loyale or unfair competition" We might
say whatever we chose with regard to our
own circulation, but we must not make COM
parisons derogatory to our neighbors A long
lawsuit followed. The truth of our statement
was not questioned-did not, in fact, enter
into consideration at all The only point at
issue was that we had made comparisons
odious and presumably damaging to our rival.
Accordingly the tribunal decided against us,
and we were mulcted.
Another litigation was that with M. Glenn
eiceftu. Htul seHt q reporter TO Interview
the great Radical leader and had satisfied
myself of the genuineness Of the interview.
In it occurred the expression ''cIiGues tap
ageuses' (noisy cliques), appiedhy NJ. Glenn
enceau to section Of his own political fol-
lowing The anti Clenenceau papers got
hold of this phrase and used it with decided
effect. A few days afterward l received
word from Clemenceau that we must deny
the whole interview. I replied that would
modify any part of it upon M. Clemenceau's
authority, but that to stultify ourselves by
swallowing the entire story, even to the fact
that an interview had taken place, was quite
out OF the question. Thereupon suit was
brought against me, damages being laid at
10O, 1000 francs. The French courts decided
in Clemenceau's favor. 1t did not appear to
be at all question of fact as based upon the
evidence. The undisputed testimony as to
the occurrence Of an interview did not ap-
parently come within the purview Of the
court. 1t was simply assumed to be the
right of NJ. Clelnenceau to insist upon any
retraction he wished. Had he chosen to ask
US to deny not only the fact that he had been
interviewed, but even that such a paper as
The Morning News existed, ] am inclined to
think the law would have sustained him.
St Louis Dispatch.